Sunday night’s matchup between FC Cincinnati 2 and NYCFC II at Northern Kentucky University provided quite the question. What would happen when a side that has struggled at home but has been in better form recently, goes up against a side that has struggled away from home, but is in a playoff spot.
FIRST HALF:
The opening of the first half of action was mostly quiet. For the predominant part of the action, it was NYCFC II in control. They held a 67-33 possession advantage in the first half, as well as having more total shots. Despite this advantage, it was the home side that would break things open.
With NYCFC II attempting to play out of the back, a misplaced pass was corralled by Stefan Chirila, who dribbled into the 18-yard box and slotted the go-ahead effort home from a tight angle.
With a lead in hand, it would seem like things were looking up for FCC 2. Yet just a few moments later, NYCFC II would draw level when Julien Lacher found Piero Elias on the left side of the box, with the young midfielder finishing past Evan Louro to make it even at the break.
SECOND HALF:
Where the first half had a slow start with neither side able to pull a clear advantage from the jump, the second half was in sharp contrast. Just six minutes into the second 45, Sebastiano Musu went top bins from outside the box, besting Louro and propelling his side back in front.
Yet the blessing that comes with conceding early is that you tend to leave yourself with a lot of time to crawl back into the contest. In FCC 2’s case, their crawl was more of a sprint, as just seven minutes later Tega Ikoba sprung Peter Mangione free around midfield. The ensuing run from the former Nittany Lion was a beauty, with a final cutback within the box opening just enough space to beat Brennan Klein.
The remainder of the second half was predominantly quiet, and despite NYCFC II once again dominating possession, they could not find another go ahead effort. Ultimately the match ended 2-2, and FC Cincinnati 2 remains alive in the playoff fight.
As is the tradition in MLS NEXT PRO, in matches that end in a draw, there is an ensuing penalty shootout. However, the result of this shootout does not change the result of the match in the table. Tonight’s shootout went as follows:
1-0 Tega Ikoba (FCC 2)
1-1 Seymour Reid (NYCFC II)
2-1 Stefan Chirila (FCC 2)
2-2 Christopher Tiao (NYCFC II)
3-2 Carson Locker (FCC 2)
3-3 Eligio Guarino (NYCFC II)
4-3 Ademar Chavez (FCC 2)
4-4 Uriel Zeitz (NYCFC II)
5-4 Evan Louro (FCC 2)
5-4 – MISS – Jonny Lopez (NYCFC II )
FCC 2 wins shootout 5-4.
NEXT MATCH:
Wednesday July 9th, @ Atlanta United 2, 7:30pm
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